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Matilda's house @ punggol

I want to convey a sense of mystery. Like some guy is creeping towards the house because he got lost (think Texas chainsaw massacre)

3.under what circumstance is the picture taken?
Under overcast skies.

4.what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
I thought it was okay at first but now I think the photo might be cluttered? Should I have taken from another angle e.g. without the tree blocking the house?

Re: Matilda's house @ punggol

I reckon this shot would benefit a lot from some cropping and lightening/increased contrast. For example, I'd personally crop it tighter so that the very blurry blade of grass isn't visible in the foreground. I just find it a little distracting

Re: Matilda's house @ punggol

Originally Posted by Brukmann

I reckon this shot would benefit a lot from some cropping and lightening/increased contrast. For example, I'd personally crop it tighter so that the very blurry blade of grass isn't visible in the foreground. I just find it a little distracting

You mean like this? I made very minor adjustments to the contrast because I'm not that good with photoshop yet.

Originally Posted by sinned79

just my two cents, your focus is totally wrong. Your subject title is matlida house but the focus is the lalangs. No offense, you should blur out the lalangs and focus on the house instead.

The effect I wanted to give was someone creeping towards Matilda's house. Hence the focus on the grass.

Thanks for your comment anyway as it gives me a new perspective to try next time when I'm there again.

Re: Matilda's house @ punggol

Hi there,

Would like to offer some thoughts on the pic.

First let me say that it's a great thing you had a purpose and an idea in mind when shooting matilda's house. This is important as it gives direction, focus and meaning to your work. Too many photographers today shoot so many things but don't quite know why they shoot it.

But I have to agree with other comments that the lighting is not good for this kinda photo. It's not exciting... i think better to have more directional lighting, such as during sunset? And also i think there's a blue colour cast on the pic. Not sure if it's my monitor, but i feel the pic is too blueish and could benefit from a warming filter in photoshop.

keep working at it. remember that all great photographers were once beginners too

Re: Matilda's house @ punggol

Originally Posted by ianhyk

Hi there,

Would like to offer some thoughts on the pic.

First let me say that it's a great thing you had a purpose and an idea in mind when shooting matilda's house. This is important as it gives direction, focus and meaning to your work. Too many photographers today shoot so many things but don't quite know why they shoot it.

But I have to agree with other comments that the lighting is not good for this kinda photo. It's not exciting... i think better to have more directional lighting, such as during sunset? And also i think there's a blue colour cast on the pic. Not sure if it's my monitor, but i feel the pic is too blueish and could benefit from a warming filter in photoshop.

keep working at it. remember that all great photographers were once beginners too

Re: Matilda's house @ punggol

No my monitor isn't haha but i hope my colours aren't too off.

btw, regarding the choice of leaves in foreground or matilda's house in focus, i think there's no right or wrong, and it mostly depends on you as a photographer and your artistic decision. but in this case if foreground were to be in focus, then the leaves need to be less messy and distracting

Re: Matilda's house @ punggol

Originally Posted by ianhyk

No my monitor isn't haha but i hope my colours aren't too off.

btw, regarding the choice of leaves in foreground or matilda's house in focus, i think there's no right or wrong, and it mostly depends on you as a photographer and your artistic decision. but in this case if foreground were to be in focus, then the leaves need to be less messy and distracting

Originally Posted by Simply80Chup

Try looking for an angel @ which your subject isn't block by to many distracting objects on a foreground. Worst case scenario, be creative, that distracting objects can be the frame of your subject.

Thanks! Will try to look for different angles & camp for sunset next time. I hope the mini pond that I encountered that day isn't permanent.

Re: Matilda's house @ punggol

I want to convey a sense of mystery. Like some guy is creeping towards the house because he got lost (think Texas chainsaw massacre)

3.under what circumstance is the picture taken?
Under overcast skies.

4.what the critique seeker personally thinks of the picture
I thought it was okay at first but now I think the photo might be cluttered? Should I have taken from another angle e.g. without the tree blocking the house?

Much thanks for your critique.

Feedback about the light: You have not done the best you could with the light. The image is definitely a little underexposed, and pushing the exposure would do well to bring a bit more life to the image.

PP tips: I don't think that's what you need at the moment. Read on.

Composition: This is where you need help. Right now, I totally cannot share your concept for someone sneaking up on a house. To me, this is a poor shot where the subject is the house (or at least, your title says so) but I see the grass in focus and I'm like "wha?"

The arrangement of the in-focus grass is also haphazard, not that it matters much, because I don't think it makes a good intended subject of focus anyway. I feel that to achieve your concept, it not necessarily means the grass needs to be the thing in focus. Think about it and see if you can visualise if you were in deep enough and dense enough long grass, such that you can focus on the house and still get a foreground of grass.

In short, this image doesn't quite cut it for me. You started with an idea, but be honest with yourself - the final product didn't quite convey it.

Re: Matilda's house @ punggol

where is Matilda house in the photo?
out of focus?
hide behind a tree?

can viewers know Matilda is your subject by looking at your photo without reading the title?
yes? no?

without a clear subject or theme, no matter how much effort you spend on post production on the photo will not improve or help. Just like you reading a 500 pages hardcover novel with very beautiful cover, printed on high quality paper, but after finish reading the book, you don't know what the author is try to tell, what would you feel?

Re: Matilda's house @ punggol

Originally Posted by calebk

Feedback about the light: You have not done the best you could with the light. The image is definitely a little underexposed, and pushing the exposure would do well to bring a bit more life to the image.

PP tips: I don't think that's what you need at the moment. Read on.

Composition: This is where you need help. Right now, I totally cannot share your concept for someone sneaking up on a house. To me, this is a poor shot where the subject is the house (or at least, your title says so) but I see the grass in focus and I'm like "wha?"

The arrangement of the in-focus grass is also haphazard, not that it matters much, because I don't think it makes a good intended subject of focus anyway. I feel that to achieve your concept, it not necessarily means the grass needs to be the thing in focus. Think about it and see if you can visualise if you were in deep enough and dense enough long grass, such that you can focus on the house and still get a foreground of grass.

In short, this image doesn't quite cut it for me. You started with an idea, but be honest with yourself - the final product didn't quite convey it.

Much thanks for your feedback. The grass was actually quite sparse. Not sure if other side had much better angles because of the big mud puddle in the middle.